restored sovereign; and the bandit fortress of Khelat was taken by General Willshire. The invaders rejoiced as if there were nothing hollow in this sudden conquest-as if the Dost was not to come back, nor the Ghilzee chiefs to rise, nor Khelat to be taken from us-all of which happened very soon. Sir J. Keane left at Cabool a force much too small for a position so dubious; and while there were too few men, there were far too many women and children. The slightest knowledge of the character of the people ought to have shewn the managers of the invasion that this was no place yet for the residence of English ladies and young children, or for thousands of helpless camp-followers hanging about the soldiery, whose utmost efforts might be required at any moment. In the rash confidence which marked the whole series of transactions, Sir Alexander Burnes encouraged any and every body to sit down beside him in Cabool, where he cultivated his garden, wrote gladsome letters to Scotland, and praised the people by whom he was soon to be murdered; and Mr M'Naghten, appointed political resident, never doubted about settling his wife in the same place; and other officers naturally shared in the confidence of these leaders. No less naturally did the government at home share that confidence; and with a haste which now looks like a satire on the wisdom of the ministry and parliament of the time, honours were lavishly decreed. Mr M'Naghten and Colonel Pottinger were made baronets; Sir J. Keane was raised to the peerage, and Lord Auckland was made an earl. By the governor-general's order, the troops were not only well rewarded with pay, but they were to bear on their regimental colours the word Afghanistan.' Another bitter satire! In October, the army returned to India-one portion to Bengal, under Lord Keane; the other, through the Bolan Pass, to the Indus, and thence to Bombay. The very insufficient force left behind was placed under two commands; General Nott having charge of Candahar and the southern region as far as the Bolan Pass; and Colonel Sale the northern, from Ghiznee to Cabool and Jelalabad. The British army had scarcely disappeared before it became plain that Shah Soojah was hated with a hatred too strong for concealment-hated as being as much worse than the British, as a domestic traitor is worse than a foreign foe. He was looked upon as having sold his country to the infidels; and before the year was out, he received intimations that some who had sworn allegiance to him under British compulsion were on the look-out for the Russians, whom they would immediately join. It really seemed as if we had been helping the Russians, instead of raising any barrier against them. Meantime, it seemed to the alarmists, who managed political affairs in this quarter, as if Russia were really coming to India. She was, in fact, aiming towards the north-west corner of Bokhara, where Khiva extends-a district which lies between the Caspian, Persia, and the Oxus, and whose inhabitants were declared to have incurred the wrath of the Russian government by annoying such of their neighbours as were Russian subjects, exacting tribute from Russian caravans, and interrupting the regular trade of Central Asia. Such, whether true or not, were the allegations of the Russian government. A more prominent charge .still, and that which occasioned a formal declaration of war in December 1839, was, that the Khiva people made slaves of all the Russians they could lay their hands on. The fisherman on the Caspian was carried away from his nets, and the travelling-merchant from his goods. Khiva merchants had been detained as prisoners in Russia, till the slaves should be set free; but only 100 had been restored, while 200 were in course of capture on the shores of the Caspian alone. So the emperor threatened vengeance on Khiva. But the elements were too strong for even the wrath of a czar. The soft-falling snow-silent and persevering-stopped the echoes of his royal thunder, and stifled his complaints, and barred his progress, and buried some of his men and horses, and turned back the rest. Little Khiva defied great Russia, as little Circassia had long been doing. Here was another lesson for us on our haste in making war for the sake of future peace; on our rashness in invading neighbours as a precaution against a far-distant enemy, who might never be able to get at us, even if he wished it. He would certainly not come down upon us through Khiva. And now, our experience of army-travelling in Afghanistan might well abate our apprehension that Russia could meet us in the field, after a prodigious journey, of which such a country as this was the last stage. In 1840, Khelat was taken from us again; the little garrisons and detachments scattered through the country were harassed by the incessant watchfulness rendered necessary by the hostility of the tribes in their neighbourhood; Colonel Sir Robert Sale found that treaties and agreements with the chiefs of the mountain-district of Kohistan, which was under his charge, were absolutely vain-the inhabitants thinking bad faith a virtue in such a cause. They harboured the Dost, and played tricks for him, and fought with him; but the gallant Sale put them down-finally, as everybody thought, on the 2d of November-little dreaming what was to happen on that day twelvemonths. Dost Mohammed walked through the British camp, with a single follower, actually unobserved, entered Cabool, and surrendered himself. He was sent to Calcutta, and finally permitted to settle at Loodianah, at the extremity of our territory, and on the frontier of the Punjaub. He was a captive whom it gratified the complacency of the authorities to receive and have under their eyes; for, the more doubtful a policy, the more precious are its incidental fruits. Dost Mohammed had polite and cheerful manners; and he was entertained with delighted hospitality. London people heard of him at the time as being at the governor-general's parties, and playing chess with the governor-general's sister. As he was fingering the pieces, no one knew better than he what a game was meditated, and actually begun in his own home beyond the Punjaub-what checks and overthrow were prepared for those who were smiling upon him as the pledge of their being sure of their game. In April 1841, Major-general Elphinstone assumed CHAP. IV.] THE PUNJAUB-BRITISH AT CABOOL. the command of the troops in Afghanistan. This officer had won reputation in the Peninsular war; but he was now old, in bad health, and, as soon appeared, so weakened in mind as to be unfit for any military duty whatever. In May, Major Pottinger arrived from Calcutta, having been appointed political agent for Kohistan. The moment he arrived, he saw-and said in proper quarters—that the force left was altogether insufficient for the need; and that it was necessary to prepare for risings of the Ghilzee chiefs at any moment. Sir William M'Naghten, usually as sanguine as his comrades, admitted that there might be some truth in thisLord Auckland having forced upon him a reduction of the allowances to the chiefs, at the very moment when their good-will was most indispensable. The enmity of the Ghilzees had been, in fact, exasperated beyond hope of accommodation, by a mistake committed a few months before, when a British officer had slaughtered a small garrison friendly to the shah, on the supposition of their being foes. A chief was among the victims, to avenge whom 5000 Ghilzees took up arms; and during the first months of 1841, they were watching only for an opportunity. During this season of suspense, there were changes going on behind them which would have materially altered the position and prospects of the British at Cabool, if a speedy fate had not been preparing for them on the spot. The Punjaub was in a hopeless state of disturbance. Runjeet Singh, 'our faithful and highly valued ally,' as the government proclamation styled him, had died; and the two next heirs were already snatched away-in the course of a few months. The new rajah was believed to have been poisoned. His son and successor, returning from the funeral, was struck by a beam which fell from a gateway upon his elephant, and died in a few hours, at the age of twenty-two. The disputes about the succession which now took place between the widow of the elder deceased rajah and an illegitimate son of Runjeet Singh, let loose all the passions of the turbulent Sikhs; and the Punjaub could no longer be regarded as a friendly and safe country, immediately in the rear of the Cabool force, into which they might retreat if pressed by misfortune. Another event of material importance was the recall of Lord Auckland by the new government at home, who sent out Lord Ellenborough in his stead. How far the invasion of Afghanistan would be sanctioned and supported by the new governor-general, would soon appear. Meantime, those who approved the late policy were sorry that the ruler who was responsible for it was withdrawn; while those who saw in this policy the operation of irresponsible military counsels through the inexperience and ignorance of a civil ruler, were sorry that another civilian was sent out instead of one of our great soldiers, who might not only look to the proper conduct of our new war, but from his experience of the evils of war, might save us from going further in our course of aggression in Asia. It was an anxious summer for the British at Cabool. They were living in cantonments near the city. Their position was so arranged as that they were a mile and a half from the citadel-the Bala Hissar 625 where Shah Soojah resided; and a river lay between ; all the four corners of the cantonments, where there were defences, were commanded by hills or Afghan forts; and their provisions were actually stored in a fort at some distance from cantonments. General Elphinstone became more and more helpless; and he called in, as his adviser, an officer whose sole thought was to get back to India, and who therefore discouraged every effort to strengthen the position of the Cabool force. From the moment that a force knows itself to be ill commanded, its heart and soul die out; and so it was now. The officers grew moody and disheartened, as they saw their situation becoming dangerous, while it seemed too plain that they would neither be allowed to prepare for defence now, nor to fight hereafter. The men were worn and weary with incessant watching, with bearing the insults of the natives, and with receiving frequent tidings of their comrades being picked off by roving enemies, as often as opportunity offered. The ladies occupied themselves with their gardens, which, in that temperate climate, rewarded all the pains taken. Sir Alexander Burnes gloried in his, which was attached to his house in the city; and during these last months of his life, he was as confident and gay as ever. He had real friends among the Afghans; and these friends warned him again and again of danger-told him that he was deceived, that the ground was mined beneath his feet, and that he must save himself now or not at all. He did not believe a word of it. He kept his fears for Russia, and was perfectly satisfied about Afghanistan. The envoy, Sir William M'Naghten, was less happy. One of the last things he said-in the next December -was, that a thousand deaths were better than the hell of suspense he had lived in for six weeks; and already he was having some foretaste of that bitter suffering. The aged Shah Soojah could do nothing. He was merely a puppet-prince set up by us, in the absence of any real call to the throne. He remained retired in the Bala Hissar, hated by the people, and pitied by the British for his contemptible positionsome few, the while, strongly doubting his fidelity. We find throughout the narratives of this war a painful suggestion thrown in here and there, that this or that incident makes for or against the supposition of Shah Soojah's fidelity. For some months there was hope that General Nott was coming on from Candahar, with a clear head upon his shoulders, a cheerful spirit in his breast, and a well-disciplined force at his heels. But he did not appear; and then it became known that he could not come at all at present. He had quite enough on his hands below. Early in September, there were small treasons and skirmishes in the mountains north of Cabool, when parties were out collecting the revenue. Later in September, Major Pottinger came to Cabool with fresh information, which so far convinced Sir William M'Naghten of the probability of a rising in Kohistan, that he resolved to detain as hostages the sons of the great chiefs. Early in October, the second son of Dost Mohammed-that Akber Khan in whose hand the fate of the British in Afghanistan was henceforth to lie-came down from the north, and posted himself in the Khoord Cabool Pass, ten miles from the city; that pass being the only way back to Hindostan. General Sale, who would have been in his winter-quarters at Jelalabad before this, but for the treasons and skirmishes in the mountains, now set forth, to clear this pass. His troops might force it, but they could not clear it. The foe was perched on the rocks, where no guns could be brought to bear upon them; and the British had to run the gantlet through the whole pass. General Sale was himself wounded. Akber Khan now had command of the British communications. It is piteous to read of the suspense at the cantonments after this. There were rumours of battles, with great slaughter of the British on the road to Jelalabad, and no letters came to clear up the matter. Sometimes, a messenger arrived; but he only brought newspapersnot a written line for even the general. Sometimes, a letter or two came with a forged seal-sometimes a letter which itself appeared to be forged. On the 31st of October, 'no dispatches for the general,' nor private letters; but further accounts hoped for to-morrow. On that morrow, 'no letters from camp, which has caused both surprise and anxiety.' This was an easy foretaste of the horrors of the next day November 2. On this night, once more and for the last time, Sir Alexander Burnes's Afghan friends came to him with warnings; and this once more in vain. He was as confident as ever. The next morning, while he and his brother and Captain Broadfoot were at breakfast, the street filled, and the cries of the crowd told too well what they came for. Burnes was sure it was only a riot, and sprang into the balcony to address the people. The enemy burst in. Broadfoot killed six with his own hand before he fell. All three were murdered on the spot, though Shah Soojah sent word, some hours after, to Sir W. M'Naghten that all was well with Burnes. Shah Soojah also said that if the rebellion was not over that night, he would burn the city the next day; but he neither did that nor anything else, but order the guns of the citadel to fire-which they did all day, without any apparent effect. CHAP. IV.] RETREAT OF THE BRITISH FROM CABOOL. For two months after this, all was unmitigated wretchedness. General Sale was hoped for-looked for-but he did not come. He could not; and his wife and comrades were told it was because his soldiers had forsaken him. General Nott never came --also because he still could not, Ammunition failed; and, what was if possible worse, food failed. The commissariat fort, which stood detached, as has been said, was taken, through sheer inertness and mismanagement of the authorities. There had been three possible courses for the British-to go back to India; to remain in cantonments, in a state of defence, till aid should arrive; or to go to the Bala Hissar, and crowd in there, sacrificing the horses, but securing human life at least, till reinforcements should come. All these were difficult and dangerous, and each entailed great sacrifices; but a vigorous adoption of any one would have left some chance to somebody. But there was no vigour, no concertthe few who were fit to command, and the many who were ready to act, were paralysed by neglect and prohibitions. The insulting enemy hovered round, and picked off every straggler, and especially all the messengers whom they could hit. Then, there was talk of treaties; and the wretched envoy -the most responsible man, and yet disabled by the imbecility of the general-caught at every false hope thus held out. Rather than endure the daily sight of the perishing force, he went out to treat-even falling into the snare of negotiating an underhand treaty which no man in any but a desperate condition would have believed attainable-and thus losing something of his honour in the eyes of the enemy. He went out to treat, saying to his companions what has been quoted of the horrors of the last six weeks, and was seized by Akber Khan himself, and murdered on the spot. Those who saw the two faces, tell of them as what can never be forgotten; Akber Khan's charged with 'diabolical ferocity'Sir W. M'Naghten's with 'horror and astonishment.' The Afghans made a plaything of his head, with its green spectacles, and held up one of his severed hands at the prison-window of the officers who had been rescued by the intervention of Afghan chiefs. Captain Trevor, whose wife and seven children were with the force, was murdered with the envoy. This decisive event happened on the 23d of December. The British were now advised' by the enemy to go back to India; and they were so nearly starved that they agreed to do so; though some of the officers were still of opinion that they should fight their way for the mile and a half which lay between the cantonments and the citadel, and take refuge there-trusting to the interest of the country-people to supply them with food. They set out, however, some of them knowing that the Afghan chiefs were saying that they would allow only one man to live; that they would cut off his limbs, and set him down at the entrance of the Khyber Pass, with a letter between his teeth warning the British to meddle no more with Afghanistan. Many set forth, believing this boast to be not unreasonable; and it was too true that only one man reached Jelalabad. Those who gave themselves up as prisoners and hostages were saved-such of them as did not die of fever and 627 hardship-but only one man performed the march from Cabool to Jelalabad. The doom of the force was clear at the end of five miles. Four thousand five hundred fighting-men, and twelve thousand camp-followers, besides women and children, set forth from Cabool on the 6th of January. The distance traversed that day was only five miles; yet it was two o'clock in the morning before the last of the force came up. The glare from the burning cantonments was visible to the fugitives as they sat in the snow, and heard what had been the destruction already, and knew what a road lay before them. Officers and soldiers lay dead in the bloody snow, all the way back to Cabool; baggage was abandoned at the very gates of the cantonments; the ladies had only what they wore, and some of them, hurried away or sick, wore only night-clothes. Each day was worse than the last. One lady had her youngest boy snatched from her arms by an Afghan; and another saw her eldest girl put into a sack, and carried off. The camp-followers, whose frost-bitten feet would carry them no further, died by hundreds along the roadside, or crawled in among the rocks, without food or prospect of any. On the fourth day only 270 soldiers were left. On the fifth, the loss altogether was 12,000 out of 17,000 men. On the sixth day there were but twenty to make a stand against the still tormenting foe. Twelve escaped from a barrier which detained them cruelly long under the enemy's fire; and of these twelve, six dropped before reaching the last town to be passed. Near this town, some peasants offered bread to the remaining six, who were famishing. They stayed a few moments only; but in those few moments the inhabitants were arming. Two were immediately cut down. The other four fled as men may do who have death at their heels, and safety almost within sight; but three of the four were overtaken and slaughtered within four miles of Jelalabad, and Dr Brydon arrived alone. He was seen from the fort stooping over his jaded pony, evidently wounded--looking as forlorn in his approach as could be imagined. He was supposed to be a messenger, and the gate was opened in readiness to admit him; but his only message was such a one as perhaps no other man has ever had to deliver-that he was the sole remnant of an army. Except the burying of Cambyses' army in the African desert, such a destruction has perhaps never been heard of in the world. There were more saved, however, than Dr Brydon knew of. The omnipresent Akber Khan, who had proposed to escort the force to Jelalabad, and then declared that he could not protect them, offered to save the ladies and children if the married and wounded officers were delivered, with their families, into his hands. These prisoners were carried about from fort to fort till the next summer, when they were released in consequence of the advance of fresh British troops. General Elphinstone was among the prisoners. He died-greatly to the relief of all to whom his fame, and the respect due to gray hairs, were dear-in the course of this captivity. His case was clear, and government was saved the pain of calling him to account. Among the captives was the remarkable woman to whom we owe much of 628 HISTORY OF THE PEACE:-1837-1846. our knowledge of the incidents of this terrible Up to the moment of Lord Ellenborough's arrival, in February 1842, Lord Auckland had done everything in his power for the rescue of the force so rashly left in Afghanistan. Troops were sent in abundance; but the difficulty was to get them through the defiles by which the country must be entered. No man yet had ever traversed the Khyber Pass in the face of an enemy-Nadir Shah himself having purchased a passage from the tribes which guard it; but General Pollock now achieved it, with extreme difficulty and risk, and by means of a strong excitement of the valour of the troops. On the 16th of April, the exhausted garrison of Jelalabad saw the reinforcements coming up; and vast General was the cheering and firing of cannon. Sale had done marvels during the intervening Sickness and other difficulties detained the British The Kuzzilbashes, hoisted on the Bala Hissar. before mentioned as of Persian descent, and hostile to Dost Mohammed and his tribe, were our best friends throughout; and it was by their aid that the prisoners were brought back, when actually on their way to hopeless captivity beyond the Oxus. The Kuzzilbash quarter was therefore spared, in the destruction of Cabool; and so was the Bala Hissar. The rest was laid in ruins; and the first part that was blown up was the bazaar, built in the reign of Aurungzebe. General Nott came up from Candahar, victorious-though the reinforcements sent to him from Sinde could not reach him, but were actually obliged to turn back after having traversed the Bolan Pass. Ghiznee had fallen from us too, and its name had lost the glory it had had when it gave his honours to Lord Keane. General Nott, after having evacuated Candahar, fought the Afghans near Ghiznee, and beat them; and was ready to attack the fortress, when it was found that the enemy had retired. The city and fortress were immediately and totally destroyed; and General Nott moved on, fighting one more battle by the way, to join the forces already at Cabool. The new governor-general had meantime, by proclamation, ordered the British forces to evacuate Afghanistan. This proclamation declares it contrary to British policy and ideas to force a sovereign on a reluctant people-a declaration which must have astonished the Afghans; and, adverting to the death of Shah Soojah, promises to recognise any ruler whom the Afghans shall choose, with any prospect of peace for their country. In the beginning of November, the British troops left the country which they should never have entered, and where some of them finally disgraced our military reputation by acts of rapine and cruelty, in an expedition in Kohistan, which the Afghans themselves could never have surpassed. It was a fitting end of one of the most The public dispatches iniquitous wars on record. and private journals of the time speak, in set-terms, of the honour of our arms being avenged, stains The wiped out, and so forth; but this is cant. honour of our arms, among the Asiatic nations as everywhere else, is absolutely implicated with the It is questionable whether, goodness of our cause. in their barbaric view, our cause had ever before been thoroughly bad-indefensible as have been some of our wars there in the eyes of Christian nations. But in this case, we were wholly wrong; and our honour cannot be now-never can beretrieved in the estimation of the Afghans. purposes of our own-foolish purposes, as it happens -we invaded their country; forced on them a sovereign whom they hated, and who had actually no party among them; invited aggression from them by our weakness and supineness; melted away under their aggression; and at last poured in upon them with overwhelming forces-blew up their strongholds, razed their cities, hunted their mountain population 'like vermin,' burning, slaying, and ravaging; and then withdrew, giving them leave to place upon the throne the very ruler we had come to depose. We may deceive ourselves with vainglory about our honour; but, as long as tradition For |